OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Review And Swatches

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch on warm toned skin with black marble background

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 swatch on warm toned skin with black marble background

Updated 2024.07.14. This page contains affiliate links and this site earns from qualifying purchases made through these sponsored links. 

OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark is an iconic OPI nail shade described as:

where midnight meets purple, an aubergine as deep as evening shadows in Lincoln Park, a near-black purple, this color is ready for neighborhood nightlife.”

Lincoln Park is a famous Chicago neighborhood park that hosts one of the country’s oldest free zoos, a conservatory, a beach, a boardwalk, museums, and a theater.

Lincoln Park After Dark was released in 2005, and it is part of the OPI Classics, the core shades OPI makes and continues to produce regardless of seasonal launches.

It is a deep eggplant black which gives it some depth and dimension over flat black nail polish. When you put it on, the first coat looks dark purple, and the second coat is where you see that deep luscious black purple come to life.

Now let’s look at some Lincoln Park After Dark swatches:

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 swatch on warm toned skin with black nail polish bottle and black marble background

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 swatch on warm toned skin holding black nail polish bottle

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch

Vertical OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 swatch on warm toned skin with black nail polish bottle and black marble background

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark swatch

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 lacquer formula upclose and black marble background

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark #NLW42 lacquer upclose and black marble background

For best results wearing Lincoln Park After Dark:

When wearing deep shades such as this one, a base coat is recommended to start, to avoid staining your nails, especially if you aren’t sure if you’ll immediately switch out this manicure with a lighter shade when this manicure runs its course.

For shade application, keep a spare concealer brush and acetone handy. Use them to clean up any polish that runs into the cuticle quickly to avoid staining your skin.

As far as wear time is concerned, this deep purple black does have some staying power. It doesn’t chip on the first day, and can make it an entire week, given you re-up your top gloss midway through the week as we did for this post.

All in all Lincoln Park After Dark is a classic for a reason - its deep, luscious purple shifting to black magic is unlike any other shade out there that we have seen.

This nail polish shade is a truly elegant, enchanting take on black. Even if you have other black nail polishes, you are bound to see some new beauty in this one.

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. As an Ulta and Sally Beauty Affiliate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. 

Lots of Lacquer

Our purpose is to celebrate the joy of fresh nails. Our goal is to help you have fun and awesome nails at the same time.

Previous
Previous

OPI Tickle My France-y Swatches

Next
Next

essie expressie precious cargo-go! Swatches